Preaching doesn't have to be hip.
Preaching doesn't have to be flashy.
Preaching doesn't have to be eloquent.
Preaching doesn't even have to be earth-shattering in its revelations.
But preaching does have to be biblical, and it does have to be.
I think I first ran across the video via Jared at Gospel Driven Church, but I just stumbled across it again on YouTube yesterday. This clip is part of a talk Matt Chandler gave at the Desiring God Pastors Conference in February of this year.
I believe Matt Chandler would also add that one absolutely vital funtion of preaching is that it should train people in godliness.
"The Gospel is ever present.
Good doctrine is ever present.
It reveals the former errors."
But first you have to preach.
At the church my husband and I attend, there is no "preaching" this summer during the church's two summer sessions, at least no preaching in the traditional sense. After the songs have been sung, we divide into groups, led by various members of the congregation, including our two main pastors.
One group is a book group; one group is a musical group, where they bring instruments and discuss elements of worship; one group is discussing the role of the Holy Spirit; one group (the largest) sits and watches Nooma videos and then discusses.
None of these groups is "bad." The question, though, is where is the preaching? And beyond that, where is the accountability?
I sat in on the Nooma session two Sundays ago, and there was no one in a position of leadership to direct and guide the discussion. There was a "leader," and discussion was occuring, but on more than one occasion, I heard someone give an interpretation of something said on the video that was (to be perfectly honest) in (direct or indirect) contradiction to what Scripture teaches. But without someone in a pastoral role with the authority and respect to correct and to guide, the unspoken attitude was "there's no wrong answer."
In regards to the teaching and interpretation of Scripture, it is safe to say there are wrong answers. I hold strongly that preaching, regardless of how hip, eloquent, or earth-shattering it is, should always seek to train in godliness, and the Gospel should be always present in preaching.
When the pastor isn't preaching, how will the people be trained in godliness?
In our church's current scenario, I suppose we train ourselves.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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4 comments:
Scripture clearly indicates that God gifts some to be preachers and shepherds of His church and it is an awesome, yet solemn responsibility. I believe that care should be exercised by any pastor to insure that all corporate teaching times of the church (often just once a week these days) be filled with clear, applicable, teaching from scripture whether the pastor is preaching or whether he has given his preaching/teaching time over to another individual.
As you ponder the importance of preaching in the life of the church and each believer, I would like to share several passages from a wonderful book entitled “Preaching the Gospel” by Mark Dever, et al.
Several excerpts from John MacArthur:
“No one can preach with power who does not preach the Word.”
“When I started in ministry, I committed myself to expository preaching, just explaining the Bible, because I knew that there was nothing I could say that was anywhere near as important as what God had to say. “
“Another reason I continue to do biblical exposition after all these years is that the Bible has a massive impact on the reality and genuineness of worship. I often tell young pastors at the outset of their ministries, ‘You have to go down if you’re going to lead your people up.’ In other words, the degree to which your people will experience transcendent worship is directly related to the depth of their comprehension of divine truth. Those who understand the gospel the deepest are the ones who worship with the greatest exaltation and exhilaration.
Sadly, most churches are content to live in the flat land. The preacher never goes deep in his preaching so the people never go high in their worship. As a result, churches cannot express real worship that rises from a soul filled with the glory of the truth, so they replace it with emotional manipulation, smarmy tunes, and superstitions. They call it worship, but it’s really more an expression of feelings than an expression of true adoration rising from the mind that has grasped the depth of profound doctrine.
For me personally the most important element in worship music is the lyrical content. The appropriate musical accompaniment should be suitable and memorable, but it is the words that carry the truth. When the words are teeming with rich theological life and biblical accuracy, they inform the mind and that launches a legitimate experience of glorifying God. But your people will not appreciate that type of profundity without the biblical background needed to understand the depth of the great realities about which they are singing. They have to be taught if they are to enjoy and express the true worship which God seeks (John 4:24).”
C.J. Mahaney quotes the Puritan John Owen regarding indwelling sin [yet another reason preaching plays a critical role in our understanding of and pursuit of godliness]:
“Many men live in the dark to themselves all their days; whatever else they know, they know not themselves. They know their outward estates, how rich they are, and the condition of their bodies as to health and sickness they are careful to examine; but as to their inward man, and their principles as to God and eternity, they know little or nothing of themselves. Indeed, few labor to grow wise in this matter, few study themselves as they ought, are acquainted with the evil of their own hearts as they ought, on which yet the whole course of their obedience, and consequently of their eternal conditions, doth depend.”
Bottom line-if my pastor doesn’t endeavor faithfully (not perfectly) to rightly handle the scriptures and the responsibility to preach both “in season, and out” then he is failing on some level to shepherd his flock. If I don’t pray that God will enable him to do so, I’m also neglecting part of my responsibilities before my Lord.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuX6U-nX_8
John Piper's sermon also answers the question, "What is preaching?"
I recently went to a church talk for perspective members. The pastor's answers to "what does your church believe" were this wishywashy, well, we kind of believe this, but if you don't believe that, that's okay. We're inclusive here.
What?
Where did all the honest-to-goodness pastors go?
I am so blessed to be apart of a great church that preaches! Shepherd of the Hills in Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California! yeah! im apart of discipleship one year commitment where we have a leader who has already been discipled and she is a pastors wife and theres five of us and she gives us verses we pray and act upon what we have read. Currently we are on the subject of "sin" and man it is amazing! Im sorry that your church is like that and you are feeling that way but the Holy Spirit knows. and the Holy Spirit is in you girl! Keep being bold in that!
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